Following a stunning 40-0 victory for the Stormers over Sale Sharks, here are our five takeaways from the Investec Champions Cup encounter at Cape Town Stadium on Saturday.
The top line
It was a chastening afternoon in South Africa for Sale Sharks as their Champions Cup chances were left hanging in the balance following this heavy defeat to the Stormers.
As for the Stormers, who went into this clash with zero points, they are back in contention after they produced a superb effort in Cape Town. The hard work was done in the opening quarter as they withstood a Sale onslaught but, once they got their hands on the ball, they ripped the English outfit apart.
The hosts were lethal in the wider channels and JD Schickerling opened the scoring after 21 minutes before Manie Libbok latched onto Stefan Ungerer’s intelligent box-kick to take them 14-0 in front at the break.
Sale were technically still in the game but, by that point, their spirit had seemed to be broken as the warm conditions took its toll. The Stormers duly touched down four more times through Sti Sithole, Warrick Gelant, Paul de Wet and Andre-Hugo Venter to secure a dominant win.
Build a score
Sale caught the Bulls’ disease by dominating possession and territory and not taking the points when they were on offer. Alex Sanderson’s men were excellent, particularly in the set-piece, in the opening stages, earning several penalties from the Stormers, but they refused to go for the posts.
Instead, they went for the corner, looking to go their trusty maul. It did gain some traction when they executed it correctly, but the visitors were simply far too profligate. As the Bulls showed against Northampton Saints in Round Two, if you don’t take the points and build a score, it can come back to bite rather quickly.
You can understand their initial intention to lay down a marker, but ultimately once they missed a couple of chances, it would have been better to get something on the board. As soon as the Stormers scored, Sale seemed to panic, knowing that opportunities had slipped them by, leading to more mistakes. It was a lesson in how to manage top level games.
Stormers transition
No doubt Sale’s intention was to dictate territory, slow the game down in the opposition half and attempt to suffocate the hosts. There were good signs in the early exchanges as they won the physical battle, but you still have to execute and Sale’s skill levels have been consistently terrible this season.
Their inability to actually catch the ball is so poor at times that you wonder what they’re actually doing in training. As a result, if you are not error free, irrespective of where you are on the field, the Stormers will punish you and they were absolutely magnificent in transition.
With a backline that contains Libbok, Ben Loader, Wandisile Simelane, Suleiman Hartzenberg and Gelant, they had a significant pace advantage over the Sharks and the visitors were simply ripped apart off turnover ball.
Simelane was particularly outstanding on Saturday and his step on Joe Carpenter which led to the opening try was absolutely stunning, while Libbok thrives on those transition opportunities. It turned into a superb afternoon for the Stormers and an embarrassing one for Sale.
Scrum battle
The frustration for Sanderson will be that they had the platform. Bevan Rodd was doing a job on the great Frans Malherbe – eventually forcing the referee to hand the Springboks tighthead a yellow card – but they failed to take advantage.
Rodd himself was culpable as his knock-on close to the Stormers line ended in Libbok scampering over unopposed. However, Steve Borthwick will be pleased about his set-piece work, especially considering England’s issues in the scrum over the past few years.
The English loosehead did have a much tougher time against Neethling Fouche, though, who continued his fine form. The Stormers scrum was much more effective with him on the field and suggests that, at the age of 31, he could come into Springboks contention. Nick Mallett and Gary Gold led the praise during the week and he justified those comments on Saturday.
The wrong defence coach?
After Felix Jones’ sudden departure, Stormers defence coach Norman Laker was reportedly on Borthwick’s three-man shortlist to replace the Irishman. Instead, the England head coach went for his good friend Joe El-Abd, whose stint did not get off to the best of starts in the Autumn Nations Series.
Borthwick may wonder whether he made the right call given this defensive display by the Cape Town outfit. The Stormers have endured a mixed season so far but injuries have played a significant part in that and, as the South Africans showed on Saturday, they are well-drilled unit when their better players are available.
Not long ago, it was Sale who were receiving plaudits for nilling Bristol Bears, but on Saturday it was the Sharks who were kept scoreless by a magnificent Stormers performance. They were relentless without the ball and, despite the talent within their backline, the foundations built off the Laker defence.
Src: Planetrugby.com - https://www.planetrugby.com/news/stormers-v-sale-five-takeaways-as-manie-libboks-transition-game-rips-sharks-apart-to-embarrass-english-outfit
